The Group 1s of the domestic thoroughbred racing season are now behind us, but work continues at pace at Entain Australia and New Zealand.

A major focus for us is one which is the most visible to our TAB customers, particularly for those who like having a bet at our hundreds of TAB outlets around New Zealand.

As I shared with you last month, we are rolling out a new TAB experience across New Zealand in our TAB stores, in pubs and clubs with TAB facilities, and our on-course offerings. This is a big project and our engineers have been hard at work to the point where we have more than 330 TAB outlets with the new technology in place – that’s more than 70% of the network. The new experience will be fully rolled out by the end of May.

As with the rollout of the new TAB betting platform last year, we will continue to take customer feedback on board, but the seamless experience between the TAB App and the new self-service terminals means the experiences are linked like never before.

Please share or forward this newsletter to anyone in the industry who you think might like to read this. They can sign up to receive the Entain Edition directly by contacting communications@entaingroup.co.nz. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please contact the same address.

We’re excited to be holding the Industry Excellence Awards again this year after the success of the inaugural event in late July 2024. Nominations are now open for the 2025 awards, with nine categories, covering the breadth and depth of the New Zealand racing industry across all three racing codes.

With nine category winners and a supreme award winner to be announced on the awards night (June 29 in Auckland), there is a category for every aspect of the industry – from training, to riding or driving, stable workers or breeders. Nominations opened on 2 April and will close on Sunday, 18 May.

If you know of some emerging leaders and rising stars of our industry aged between 18 and 40 (there are plenty of worthy candidates around!), then please visit entaingroup.co.nz/industryawards and fill in the nomination form under the “How do I nominate someone” section.

There’s something extra special about Cups racing – the longer distance of many of these Cups races captures the interest of the crowds, particularly when there’s the opportunity to see the field head down the home straight twice, as tends to be the case for races over 2000m or further.

Along with New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing and the Riverton Racing Club, we were pleased to support the $50,000 Southern Cups Bonus, which was decided on a winner-takes-all basis through a points system. It was run across the Gore Cup, Invercargill Gold Cup, Dunedin Gold Cup, Wyndham Cup, and the Riverton Cup, with double points up for grabs in the Riverton Cup.

The format worked perfectly, with nine runners in the Riverton Cup having a chance to claim the bonus, depending on the finishing order. While it wasn’t Loftys Gift’s day in the Riverton Cup, her Dunedin Gold Cup win and Gore Cup 2nd for trainer Robert Dennis and owners Knot Enough Syndicate & Markwood Lodge Ltd secured the bonus.

The success of the Bonus was evident with a 47% increase in starters and a 41% increase in turnover across the five races.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for Crocetti running in the Trackside NZ / Perth Racing slot in this year’s edition of The KIA Quokka at Ascot in Perth on Saturday, after getting caught wide in the running over the 1200m. That doesn’t take away from the enthusiasm and passion that Crocetti’s connections – owner Daniel Nakhle and trainers Danny Walker and Arron Tata – brought to the campaign, being so accessible throughout the process.

This is the second year Trackside has had a runner in The KIA Quokka and we continue to see strong interest in the race from our TAB and betcha customers, with 10% more Kiwis betting on the race compared to 2024. We know that Crocetti’s army of New Zealand fans will keenly await his return to racing later in the year!

It’s been a huge opening season for Auckland FC in the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s, and our new betting brand betcha has been with them all the way along the journey.

Auckland FC claimed the Premiers Plate over the weekend after finishing on top of the premiership table, and put the exclamation mark on their premiership with a 1-0 victory over Perth Glory on Saturday, thanks to this cracking goal from a corner by midfielder Marlee Francois.

Both Auckland FC and betcha are exciting new challengers shaking up their respective markets, and the team at Entain have deeply valued our premium partnership over this debut season. For the first finals match in May, betcha will be hosting live watch parties, bringing fans together to experience the excitement in a vibrant atmosphere.

For the second finals match, betcha will run a competition offering winners exclusive access to the betcha Base, positioned at the end of the field to provide spectacular, elevated views of the pitch and an unforgettable match-day experience.

The wait was well and truly worth it when Leap To Fame obliterated an outstanding field in The Race by betcha at Cambridge earlier this month. He carved a massive 1.6 seconds off the New Zealand record time for a 2200m mobile pace, getting the better of his Aussie rival Don Hugo and the best of the Kiwi pacers.

With such a quality field assembled for The Race by betcha, and strong trans-Tasman representation in the TAB Trot, it’s no surprise that customer numbers on the night were up, even despite the inclement weather.

Here’s hoping Leap To Fame will be back across the Tasman Sea later this year for the NZ Trotting Cup at Addington in November.

I was a little unique as my first love came from the puzzle of analysing a horse race more so than the love of the horses themselves (which came shortly after). I had some great punting mentors in my early days and made my income through betting all the way through my university years – it was a fun time while it lasted!

During this period, the superstars I fell in love with were So You Think and Black Caviar, and I still think those two are the biggest rockstars to hit the turf in the modern era.

Now in my current role, I’m very lucky to witness the best on the track across all three codes on both sides of the ditch. I only wish the horses I own were participating in those races.

What excites you about the strategic partnership?

Put simply, the opportunity. New Zealand racing has such a rich history, and we Australians know how talented the top Kiwi horses are when they come and win plenty of our Group 1s. Therefore, as part of the partnership, it’s not just about how Entain can give more support to racing in NZ through our NZ brands, but also about how we can as a business better promote NZ racing in Australia and beyond.

The race event I’m most looking forward to?

Although not a racing event, I’m looking forward to going to the Industry Excellence Awards this year. The first edition was a fantastic way to celebrate the young participants of all three racing codes together, and I suspect there will be more nominations this year after everyone saw what a fun night it was.